The Lost World Ch. 03

Rainer glared venomously at the being blessed and surrounded by intense white light. Just seconds before he learned the identity of the being, Ramiel, it had mercilessly slain Hanazae, whom Rainer had befriended.

Technically befriended was too strong of a term to describe someone anyone had just met. Either way, Rainer rather liked Hanazae's personality that he found quite unique among demons. Yet now that personality no longer existed. The servant demon was charred cleanly by the angel's light.

Rainer was a fairly calm man; he saw no reason to lose himself in emotion like the normal demon population. However, seeing this Ramiel treat her killing of Hanazae and Zamarak as nothing more than a chore infuriated him. Killing them made him angry in the first place, but the angel's attitude was less than desirable.

Rainer, who was the Lord of Lust, was deeply experiencing a Sin other than Lust: Wrath. Not once in his entire life, even as a human, has he ever felt such an intense emotion other than the one that revolved around his core.

It wasn't good. It was not that demons shouldn't immerse themselves in other Sin, but that Rainer knew he would make some bad decisions in his current emotional state.

Slap!

Rainer slapped both of his cheeks with his hand, jolting his mind and brain. The burning sensation from his rage seemed to flow out of his cheeks. Though he was still somewhat angry, Rainer could think with an open and rational mind.

The Inquisitor of Castitas... Rainer had learned that this was a title of one of the seven special Archangels. Similar to the titles Rainer and the other Rulers of Sin used to differentiate each other with their Sin, the Archangels had adopted titles in order to differentiate their Virtue.

The Inquisitor of Castitas, Latin for chastity, was the title for the Archangel, Ramiel. Rainer was surprised to find out that Ramiel was a female angel; he thought that each Archangel was male. She stood tall, around the same height as Rainer. She wore a white-gold vest suit with matching pants, quite a strange outfit, thought Rainer. She was very beautiful, owning a lovely face akin to perfectly cut limestone. Ramiel also had a head of long and smooth white hair that wrapped over her shoulders and down to her waist.

In any case, why exactly was one of the mighty Archangels here in the Circles of Sin?

Before Rainer could ask any questions, the beautiful Archangel opened her plush lips. "I failed my mission... Assassinate the leader of Lust's soul hunters and pull out without being seen. I succeeded in killing the tenth district leader, leader of Lust's soul hunters, but I was seen by the Lord of Lust..."

(Zamarak was the leader of Lust's soul hunters, I'm not surprised. He was very insistent in getting official support from me, probably to make a full scale hunt for souls on Earth. Very crafty.) Rainer curled his lips into an invisible smile.

Rainer glanced over to Ramiel, who was eying suspiciously. Now he made himself take action. "There would be no point in assassinating a single leader to a group of soul hunters. There are similar operation going on in the other Circles of Sin, are there?"

"How do you know this? It is impossible for demons to know our plans." Either Ramiel didn't care now that the cat was out of the bag, or she was extremely bad in keeping secrets.

"Like I said, there would be no point in taking out a single soul hunter, no more how high up their hierarchy you go. Their operations could still go on. The only way to disrupt the hunt for human souls is to completely destroy their leadership."

Rainer had learnt much since becoming the Lord of Lust. He knew that among the rough teamwork of the soul hunters, there were four major leaders. Each of these four had their identities a secret, and had numerous methods in hiding those secret to the point that not even Rainer, who had access to every bit of information he wanted, could find out. Who knew that Zamarak was one of them?

"Other angels, probably Archangels like you, are assassinating the leadership of the loose group of soul hunters in the Gardens Greed, the Empire of Envy, and the Plains of Pride."

Ramiel snapped her tongue and narrowed her eyes. Somehow, this brand new Ruler of Sin had figured out their plans. "As you say... Since I was seen, I must silence those who see me."

Well, there was no point in divining the meaning behind those words. It was fairly obvious she was going to attack Rainer with the intent to kill.

Rainer closed his mouth and readied himself for a tough battle. This would be the first time he would face someone around his level in power. It was a known fact that only Rulers of Sin could fight Archangels. While there were some exceptions to that rule involving certain pagan gods, the four horsemen, and certain rare humans, it was accepted by the majority of all life that if you faced and Archangel or Archdemon, you would matched a hundred times over and then some.

While he expected Ramiel to instantly attack, Rainer saw her take out a glowing orb and held it to eye level. Wary for an attack, Rainer watched Ramiel's actions studiously.

The Archangel focused on her orb and spoke to it. "Karel, set up the anti-demon barrier."

Immediately after she said this, a muffled voice replied. "We already have, shall we activate it?"

"Yes, and be ready for battle. The worst outcome had come to fruition, the Lord of Lust is here and saw me in front of our target."

"I see, it shall be done. The barrier only works against demons, there are at least five powerful non-demon presences here. We will be unable to assist." The voice went away from the orb.

Ramiel returned her gaze back to Rainer and relaxed the fingers curled around the orb. The glowing sphere began rolling in her hand, as if driven by an invisible force like a conveyor belt.

The beautiful Archangel dropped her hand and the orb began floating in mid air, spinning faster and faster until Rainer could no longer tell it was spinning in the first place. Then it shot out like a bullet, acting like a spinning bullet aimed for his head. Ramiel had struck the orb with her palm, using it as a projectile.

Rainer saw the incoming projectile with his heightened sight and ducked only to find Ramiel coming in for an attack with some sort of weapon. However, he expected something like this to happen and pushed himself off the ground with one hand. The spinning orb passed between his legs that were now in the air.

Their battle had begun.

-

A glassy web of energy spread from the center of Zamarak's manor. It completely enveloped the manor and several buildings around it until it stopped, holding a two kilometer diameter.

At first, nothing changed. People who saw the clear texture spread past them and beyond looked about in confusion, wary for harmful intent. Then half a second later, any single being that was demon in body were pushed out from the barrier by an invisible force similar to a fist.

Asmodea and Nerissa who were together with one of the district leaders, Alizae, were involuntarily attacked by this force and pushed into the walls. Any objects that stood in their path were destroyed by the impact from the three bodies until they eventually were forced out of the kilometer shell.

They were unable to grasp the situation in time or create a counter measure, so they could only tense their bodies in preparation for their abrupt landing. Thankfully their bodies were trained physically, and could withstand much larger impacts than the normal person. Asmodea had even fallen from a three hundred meter height after her wings were pierced several hundred years back and easily survived.

Going back to the matter at hand, the three demons found themselves thrown out of the manor. They arced through the air until the force disappeared and they fell to the ground 700 meters out from the manor inside Tleros.

Still, it wasn't like their wings were messed up, so each of the three succubae flipped through the air and halted their movement in the air. Staring down at the silver barrier, two instantly knew what it was, from personal experience.

Noticing their solemn glares, Nerissa posed a question as she floated in the air with white wings. "You both seem to know what it is... Well?"

Asmodea answered first. "This is a defense barrier completely impenetrable by any demons other than Rulers of Sin." Her eyes squinted down and she shot her arm out to the side. "Arrive." She uttered this sole word and a grey mist gathered around her arm, forming a claymore. This was her special sword, a soul weapon famous in even the human world.

Alizae stretched her arms and rested her head between her fingers. Her black wings flapped menacingly, ready to swoop down and wreak havoc on her prey. "You would probably know what this is by its official name: Angel Safe."

Upon hearing that, Nerissa understood just exactly what the barrier was. It was a defensive barrier used by angels in order to guard their various command centers during times of war. Like a safe, the barrier was meant to completely guard against the angel's eternal foes. There was no possible way for a demon to enter the premises inside an Angel Safe. The fact that there was one here right now meant that it was certain there were angels inside the Land of Lust.

"The fact that there is one here right now means one of those guys is here too..."

"Yes, I wonder who? Probably Ramiel, I mean, wouldn't it be appropriate for the Inquisitor of Castitas to go against the Lord of Lust?"

Nerissa, oblivious to the implications behind the words of the powerful succubae, tilted her head in confusion.

Noticing that confusion, Asmodea cleared up the baffling atmosphere. "There are only seven Angel Safes, one for each Archangel. Only an Archangel has the power to completely block out all demon presence from a set area, in turn it also uses up a lot of their power."

"Is there not any way to enter one of these Angel Safes? An Archangel is a serious threat, we must find a way for my darling to seek out and destroy!" Nerissa pumped both of her fists in the air. She was completely sure of her husband's absolute power.

"That's the problemmmmm..." Alizae groaned in the air, grimacing as if eating a rotten fruit. "While demons cannot enter an Angel Safe, non-demons can. Basically, only the humanoid harpies and Yuki-Onna can enter the barrier at the moment."

"Then wouldn't that mean the two district leaders and humanoid leaders are in there right now?"

Asmodea smacked her lips. "Also Aureal if she is still in there, since she is a fallen angel. Lauren could if she was around, since she is human. Lastly, Rainer may also be in there. The only demons powerful enough to negate the anti-demon atmosphere inside an Angel Safe are Rulers of Sin, thus our cute Lord of Lust is still inside."

Nerissa gazed solemnly down at the silver barrier, feeling helpless in being unable to do a single thing. She trusted in Rainer's power and ability, but she was still dearly worried for her beloved husband.

-

While numerous demons stared in awe and discomfort at the Angel Safe, there were a few inside that shell making their move. Aureal was one of them. Since she once fought on the side of angels in the last war between angels and demons, she knew just how awesome the Angel Safe was, and its implications for it being placed here right now.

She also knew how the Angel Safe worked and how to disable it. The main device was set in the very center of the shell, but there were four temporary pylons in ninety degrees apart from one another in exact geometric detail. Destroying one or two of the pylons would greatly weaken the barrier, and large impacts would allow for small holes to open up for demons to enter. Destroy three pylons and the more powerful demons could easily enter the barrier, but only the more powerful ones. Once all four were destroyed, there was no base for the Angel Safe to sit on and it would disappear, allowing any demonic presence to take hold.

Aureal had already calculated the exact spot of one of the pylons and was heading there now. Leaning on her shoulder was her massive warhammer. She did not wear her plate armor, instead opting for a light set cloth purely for the purpose of keeping her body covered.

(This will be the first time I officially fight an angel on the side of demons. To my old kin, I am most certainly a traitor in their eyes. However, I hold no regrets. I am happy here, being with Rainer and everyone else. Everyone is my friend and everyone is kind.) Aureal drifted her head down, smiling at the ground with a tranquil expression. She took four more steps, leaving the manor and finding herself in a vineyard where a glowing diamond shaped object sat.

Aureal saw the pylon and swung her hammer in a circle in the air before pushing off the ground for her target. Her hammer turned black, oozing the essence of darkness from the head of the weapon.

The fallen angel somersaulted in the air and slammed down her warhammer with all her great might would allow. Her feet found a stable position on the ground where she saw sword stopping the warhammer with only its tip. The dark energy she gathered dispersed and clouded about before disappearing into the sky.

A crescent of light spun around from the air and struck Aureal's position. The fallen angel jumped out of the way and flipped through the air. Another crescent spun towards her in the air, aiming to slice off her black feathery wings, Aureal saw it just in time and diverted the crescent's path with her warhammer.

A glorious figure of light sped towards the ground with a flowing whip of light behind his body. Although it flowed like a whip, it was as sharp as a sword. The being flung its arm forward and the light wrapped itself around the haft of Aureal's hammer and moved towards her arm. Aureal was surprised by the nature of the weapon and was unable to react in time for the light to reach her arm and cut deeply.

The wound was unable to kill her, it was far too shallow. But the figure of light yelled out, "God's magnificent punishment, become a rigid blade!"

The whip of light stopped flowing like water and stiffened up. The light did more than just slice Aureal's arm- it cut the fleshy limb off completely.

Aureal's severed arm bounced on the ground blushing red and spurting blood. Aureal felt extreme pain, but it was nothing compared to seeing her master in similar of worse pain.

She looked at her hammer that clattered on some stones next to her severed arm. She quickly slapped the open wound next to her shoulder with her left hand, instantly cauterizing the bloody mess with a burst of heated light. She willed her warhammer away and back into her left hand.

"I obviously knew it couldn't be this easy." Aureal rested her warhammer on her shoulder once again and faced her sword-wielding foe. At once she recognized whom she faced, an angel that went with the name of Artio.

"Aro! I remember you, Aureal, is it not? Yes, yes... You're as beautiful as I remember!" Artio, though just as beautiful despite being male, twirled around like a deranged ballerina, freely giving praise. He floated half a meter above Aureal's severed limb.

How mentally stable... Aureal thought rudely as she watched the angel pirouette around. "What do you and Ramiel aim to accomplish by activating Angel Safe here? Is this a declaration of war?" Aureal had already calmly assessed the situation.

She knew that an Angel Safe could only be created with the power of an Archangel. Just why was such a powerful being here right now? It couldn't be coincidence that they came to Tleros in the exact day her master had come here. Perhaps Rainer was their objective?

"Aha, well, since we already completed our orders, I suppose telling you won't matter now! We came here to kill one of the highest-ranking leaders of the Soul Hunters, Zamarak. However..." Artio ceased his cheery tones and twisted his tongue. "However... Now I suspect we'll utterly massacre a traitor like you and your precious Lord of Lust. Sounds good?"

Artio was one among many angels in Heaven whom despised Aureal. He was utterly disgusted that a member of his beautiful race would debase their body with sinful dark power.

There was no angel in all of time, excluding Aureal, who could wield dark magic along with the angel's normal light magic. It was an unprecedented first among the angel race. It was said that the beginning of every angel is done with God's blessing, however, why would God create such a contradicting existence?

No one went against God, no one wanted to. So why did God create something so... Ugly? Artio never understood his reasoning for that part. Of course he was not high enough ranked or blessed to speak with God directly, which is a great honor. If he could, the first question he would ask would be the reasoning behind such an ugly creation.

However Artio could not speak with God, so the next best thing he could do was eliminate Aureal, even if that did cause a massive rift between the Lord of Lust and Inquisitor of Castitas that bridges into a war.

It was his duty.

"Kwah!" Artio spurted blood out of his mouth and reached his hand for a sudden opening in his upper chest. A dark fleshy spear pierced his ribcage protecting his heart, destroying the insides. Looking down, Artio could see the fleshy spear stretching down from the severed Limb he sliced off of the ugly fallen angel's body. "What damned magic is this?"

"This is the power my kin despised me for being born with. Dark magic, or more specifically, Shadow Manipulation." Aureal grimaced at the fierce pain. Although it was halved since her limb wasn't actually a part of her body at the moment, having it twist into a lance of flesh still hurt greatly.

In honor of the late Romance of Lust, Tozomat, Aureal mainly evolved her dark magic into Shadow Manipulation. It was a special dark magic that manipulated the user's shadow and twisted their flesh into various formations. As long as if you could bear the pain of having your body twisted into abhorrent amalgamations of flesh, you could create anything with your imagination of body. You could even sever your own limbs... You could even remove the head from your body. However there are a few rules with this peculiar magic. The first was that you could only manipulate the shadow or your own body's flesh. The second was that Shadow Manipulation could not reattach any piece of your body that was severed by normal means; any piece of your body that you remove with that magic CAN be reattached.

Aureal leaped off the ground and gained altitude with her black wings. With immense strength and a single left arm, Aureal lifted her massive hammer into the air. She looked down at Artio coldly, she did not hate those who bullied her in Heaven, but she would not show them mercy.

Artio saw death approaching him. His arrogance led him to believe he would not be harmed after taking the ugly being's arm.

Aureal slammed down her hammer with the momentum of gravity onto the pylon a meter away from Artio's position. The pylon remained unharmed, though a small crack appeared from where Aureal's hammer hit. The crack spread like powerful venom until it covered the entire crystalline structure and shattering it completely.

"Do not misunderstand. If we fight again, I will not hesitate to kill you. I must destroy the Angel Safe, so I cannot waste any time destroying pests like you. Escape now and I will let you live."

Artio blinked and spat at the ground towards Aureal. Normally he would never do such an undignified act like spitting at ones enemy, but this ugly being far surpasses that disgrace. And now he had to run away with his tail behind his back. "We will fight again..." And with those words, Artio touched an object within his garments and turned into a beam of light that disappeared into the sky.